John 7:24 Don't judge by appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.

OBSERVATIONS: It doesn’t say not to judge, on the contrary, we are to judge, but when we judge, we are to judge righteously. But be careful to not judge by how something looks. 

Judge (verb) to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and

testing of premises, to determine or pronounce after inquiry and deliberation, a

weighing of the evidence on which a conclusion is based. 

Premise (noun) a statement or idea that is accepted as being true and that is used

as the basis of an argument.

Righteous (adjective) morally good, following religious or moral laws, acting in

accord with divine or moral law, free from guilt or sin.

Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, and you don’t know what an apple

tastes like until you actually bite into it. Sometimes I think I’ll really like a movie

because of the great trailer, but then I realized that all the great lines of the movie

I already saw in the trailer, so they just weren’t that funny anymore. The illustration

on the cover of the book is by an artist or a photographer who is usually not the

author who wrote the book. I have cut open a beautiful apple before, only to find

that it was bruised or mealy on the inside and just threw it in the garbage. 

Just because something is accepted as being true, does not mean that it is true.

Just because someone says something, doesn’t necessarily make it true. Just

because I read something on the internet, does not mean that it is necessarily true.

We have to consider the source. Is the source credible and trustworthy? Where did

they get their information from? Did we weigh all of the evidence and ask more

questions before coming to a decision? 

Who is righteous?

We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

There is none who does good, not even one. (Ps 14:1-3) Surely there is not a

righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. (Ecc. 7:20)

If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous

(1 John 2:1).

God’s righteous judgment (Romans 2)
God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:16)
Our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God. (Romans 3:1)
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe…and

are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

to be received by faith, to show God’s righteousness. (Romans 3:21-26)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse

us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might

bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

APPLICATION: I have to be careful not to jump to a conclusion about something

or someone too quickly, not to judge in too positive of a way as to show favoritism,

and not to judge in a too negative way as to condemn. It is God’s place to judge

other people, not my place, because only God knows their heart, their inside

thoughts.

God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything. (1 John 3:20)

I have to be careful not to judge by what the outside looks like. I may not see the

whole picture, or I may not see the whole context. I have to let God judge them. I

have to focus on judging myself, my own actions and the plank in my own eye

(Matthew 7:1-5).

God forgave us of our sins and had mercy on us by sending His Son Jesus Christ

to be the sacrifice and pay the penalty for all of our sins. So we are to be like that

to others, to try and look at other people the way God sees them, as His children

that He loves and forgives.

Did Jesus only pay the penalty for some of our sins? For only certain kinds of sins?

For only a certain number of sins? No, Jesus paid the price once and for all. The

only thing we have to do is BELIEVE IT…whoever does not believe is condemned

already (John 3:16-18). 

And this is the judgment: the Light has come into the world…whoever does what

is true comes to the Light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been

carried out in God (John 3:19-21).

Peter said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If I will

that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me." John 21:20-22

I need to be forgiving of others like Christ forgave me. I need to forgive them, even

if for my own sanity, so that I don’t keep torturing myself over what happened in

the past. Even though other people have hurt me tremendously, emotionally,

violently, and brutally, Jesus already paid for their sins. God knows their heart,

their thoughts, their past and their future. Everyone has their own journey to walk,

on their own path to take, either with God or without God, that is their choice.

Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on

the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:5).

I have to make my own choices on how I choose to live my life. I need to surrender
my life to my Lord and Savior. Humans will always disappoint, but my God is my

Provider, my Protector, my Healer, my Counselor, and my strength. God has

brought me through so many tough things in my life, and I need to trust Him

no matter what because I know He has a plan and a purpose for my life, and

I know that He is good, He is just, and He is faithful. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, please help me to look past the outward appearance and

help me to see people as You do Lord. Please help me to be forgiving. Please

help me to forgive others who have hurt me. The overwhelming pain and the

unbearable torture still torment me and haunt me, and I need Your peace that

surpasses all understanding. I don’t understand, but when I pray, all I get is

“Be still and know that I am God.” So I will trust You Lord. Thank you Lord for

your peace and your strength. Amen.